“I was on a five-hour bus ride playing cards with these guys, laughing, having a good time,” he said.

Arriving back in town at 2:30 a.m. Thursday, Olsen looked forward to a typical off-day. Only fate dealt him a different hand.

Before he went to bed that evening, he learned he was traded and would be wearing the San Antonio Rampage uniform. And, with fate still not done playing with him, the luck of the draw had San Antonio scheduled for its final regular-season game against Olsen’s now former team, the Rockford IceHogs, on Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

By the time Rockford finished its 4-2 victory, Olsen was a bit exhausted among other things.

“It’s been a couple of long days, to be honest,” he said afterward. “After I found out I got traded, I didn’t get much sleep that night. I’d never been traded before.

“Obviously, it was a weird feeling to find out that night (Thursday) and have to travel the next day with two flights to Iowa. And then the next day to fly out here this morning (Saturday) and bus over here.

“Hopefully, now that I’ve played my first game with these guys, things will settle down and I’ll finally get some rest.”

His reaction to being dealt with forward Jimmy Hayes in a trade that netted the Chicago Blackhawks the return of forward Kris Versteeg?

“Obviously, I was disappointed at first,” said Chicago’s first-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (28th overall). “I’ve been with the Chicago organization for four years. They gave me my first game in the NHL, and obviously that’s where I wanted to play.

“Looking at it now, it’s a new start,” added Olsen, who played 152 games with the ‘Hogs and 28 with the Blackhawks. “They (Panthers) are cleaning house. They got rid of three coaches and they’re getting rid of players, starting fresh.

“I think it’s a good thing for me, and I’m looking forward to moving on from here.”